How Microsoft is helping to 'solve' cancer

A subset of those scientists, engineers and programmers have a different goal: They're trying to use computer science to solve one of the most complex and deadly challenges humans face: Cancer. And, for the most part, they are doing so with algorithms and computers instead of test tubes and beakers. "We are trying to change the way research is done on a daily basis in biology," said Jasmin Fisher, a biologist by training who works in the programming principles and tools group in Microsoft's Cambridge, U.K., lab. One team of researchers is using machine learning and natural language processing to help the world's leading oncologists figure out the most effective, individualized cancer treatment for their patients, by providing an intuitive way to sort through all the research data available. Another is pairing machine learning with computer vision to give radiologists a more detailed understanding of how their patients' tumors are progressing.